Submitted by morourke@cloud9... on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 10:19
The Featured Experience Provider segment is a chance for us and our customers to get to know more about the incredible individuals that provide our experiences. They are the true masters of their craft, having years of experience providing customers an opportunity to check something off their bucket list. They are entrepreneurs who, in many cases, left steady jobs at large corporations to pursue the American Dream, creating thousands of unforgettable memories for many along the way. Today we talk with one of our favorite driving experience providers, Jim Switzer, about the company's history, some amazing customer experiences, and what they love the most about their experiences. Among other things, Jim and his company provide some of our incredible exotic car experiences in Las Vegas. When & why did you start the company?
Having over 6 years racing school experience in France, the founders Romain Thievin & David Perisset decided to launch the driving experience in Las Vegas. The official first track date was on Saturday, November 21st, 2009. They had a total of 5 supercars, including the Ferrari F430-F1, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Porsche 997 Carrera S and Corvette Z-06. We had an astounding turnout of 78 drivers come out that day for a driving experience, which was completely unexpected. At the end of the day we decided to add more cars due to the instant demand. As of May 2011, they have a total of 16 of the world’s most exclusive supercars and growing!!
Get behind the wheel of a Ferrari on a real race track to see what these supercars can really do!
What do you love about the experiences you offer?
We love the fact that we are making dreams come true each and every day here...There is not another place in the United States that you can drive up to 10 different supercars all in the same day. We not only allow our drivers to “get behind the wheel” but we train them and educate them to drive these vehicles at the speeds they were intended to be driven at… on a real race track!
Describe your best customer experience
One of our favorite stories is a surprise 18th birthday present for a young man by the name of Chris. 18 years of age just so happens to be the minimum age required for any individual to actually drive our cars. To Chris’s surprise, his father selected a 100 lap driving experience with 10 different supercars that day. Needless to say, the family had a great time and Chris could not stop smiling the entire time while on track. 5 hours later Chris was on “Cloud 9” hugging all of the driving instructors that we could find at the time in the garage. Another greater customer experience stretches out for a 17 month period. A California resident by the name of Thomas visited us for the very first time on December 12th 2009. Intimidated at first, he was amazed at how easy the program was for him. Being an software troubleshooter he figured there was no possible way that he would be able to handle these types of vehicles on a race track. After the 30 minute drivers meeting and 2 familiarization laps of the track as a passenger, he knew that this was his next hobby in life. Since that date in December 2009, Thomas has come back to Las Vegas on 7 different occasions and has earned a name for himself on track after accumulating over 400 LAPS!
What do you like about working with Cloud 9 Living?
Clients that book through Cloud 9 Living are some of the most informed clients that we have on track. This is because Cloud 9 Living takes the time to explain the process from booking the packages all the way through the driving experience and what is to be expected while on track. The Cloud 9 website is very accurate in all descriptions and the vehicle availability is synced in “real time” with the actual cars available. When you book through Cloud 9 you are going to get exactly what you want and more importantly, what you decide to purchase for yourself or a gift to a loved one.
Night Helicopter Tour of the Las Vegas Strip
What other Cloud 9 Living experience would you most like to do?
Night time helicopter tour of the strip. This will bring you some of the most amazing views you can possibly imagine from slightly higher than the stratosphere needle tower, standing at 1,815ft above the ground.
What is the one thing that people can expect to feel, think, or experience when they go on your experience?
That is a very difficult question to answer...everyone has different expectations and backgrounds before coming on track with us. The one thing that they can expect is to be in shock by how easy it is to drive these exclusive cars at unimaginable speeds! Anyone can do the experience which opens doors to not just the male driving enthusiast, but also to their friends and family as well.
Thanks Jim! We love working with you and the rest of your team! Your experiences consistently get rave reviews from customers and your operation is by far and away one of the most organized and well run that we have the privilege of being connected to. Learn more about our driving experiences in Las Vegas by checking out our Las Vegas Driving Experiences page.